Northeast Gardening: Advice on planning a border?, 1 by rcn48

rcn48 wrote:
Meg, ok I'll try not to be prejudiced :) I agree with dirtyinnh, I don't think you'll have enough sun on that corner for either the Deutzia or Butterfly bush. That particular Deutzia would tend to look "straggly" without enough sun. Don't get me wrong, I love Deutzia, well at least some of them :) We have several, one 'Magicien' whose flowers are gorgeous, but I have to fight with it every couple of years and whack it back - it's just too vigorous, sending up branches that reach almost 10' tall! That might not be so bad if the rest of the shrub would follow suit, but the base of the plant never fills out properly and you're looking at these huge "arms" that are reaching for the sky! I'm not familiar with 'Strawberry Lemonade', although we have had the variegated Buddleia 'Harlequin' for a long time. We have never had good luck with it :( The green and white variegation is lovely and the contrast of the dark purple flowers is fantastic, but it is not as vigorous as most Buddleias and most years I have to chop away at least half of the shrub that has died back or reverted to just green foliage. Now, if you absolutely have to have a variegated Buddleia, I'd vote for 'Santana'. We've had this one for two years now and the gold and green variegation is beautiful and so far it appears to be a good grower as far as variegated Buddleias go.

You already know what my answer is - If I had just taken a picture of my friend's Oakleaf last summer I'm sure you wouldn't even be considering anything else for that corner. The panicles on her Hydrangea were some of the largest I've ever seen - at least 10" long! But I'll forgive you if you decide on something else :)

Here's a pic of Santana's foliage from last summer.
Debbie